Otherworld (A Morris File)
by AztecMoogle
Summary: Richard Morris is different. But when he gets tasked into looking for a rich woman's son in a Darkstalkers town, things change. Could he and his existential assistant find the boy and get out? This is a Morris File
1. Chapter 1

_I never understood why I didn't fit in with anyone while I was in school..._

_"They just don't understand you..."_

_"You're different..."_

_"They're jealous..."_

_My parents would tell me, but growing up being... different... did have its advantages. People didn't mess with me and nobody expected anything from me... and nobody pretended to be anything more than background to my life._

_This is my story..._

_My name is Richard Morris. White, male, 6'-4". Tall, dark, and handsome enough with some alcohol... and a Darkstalker. What's a Darkstalker? If you have to ask then you don't need to know..._

_-0-_

_My story begins like most stories do: with a woman..._

_"Why am I traveling to the North-Eastern side of Colorado again?" I asked as I sat in my office. It was a cozy thing: four dark walls with functional furnishing. My desk had a couple of papers that I had scattered to make my office seem official._

_"Because you're taking my money and because you're my last hope... Murphy sent me to you, if that helps. " She replied while placing a picture of a 10-year-old boy, about three shades darker than her, on my desk._

_"Murphy, eh..." I mumbled and examined the picture. The boy knelt in the grass with his back to whoever took the picture but had turned back in time for the picture to be taken. He looked like every pre-teen boy that came from money: skinny, spoiled, bored. I evaluated the boy, in the picture, and the woman in front of me and I adjusted my rates according. "Five grand to find him in a week, and an extra grand for each day after that plus expenses. At least half upfront."_

_Her eye brows rose slightly, followed by a sigh as she pulled out her check book._

_"I'll give you the full five grand now and another five if you start today." She countered. "Plus five more when you bring him back to me by this Friday."_

_"Why Friday?"_

_"Fundraiser…"_

_"She's hiding something..." A middle height girl, in her 20's warned me. She stood on the right side of the woman and bent down to examine the side of her head. "She is playing with you; you could see that, can't you?"_

_I sighed. "What's the catch?"_

_"My sources tell me that his sister took her to an odd town in Colorado. One where odd people live and work. An odd town where people look and act differently. A town where something called Darkstalkers live._

_I raised my eye brows. "How do you know about Darkstalkers?"_

_"I don't... I got my source from my maid who quit after I insisted for more facts, even after I threated to call immigration on her ass."_

_"I don't like her, boss." The young woman said as she sat on the desk and examined the woman. "She feels cold...disturbing..."_

_"If there was to be a town like that, Mrs. Fillips..." I said. "That would be classified under the 'weird' section and I know that section very well. I have seen everything you could think of. Anything your mind can believe I have seen it."_

_"You talk a lot. Will you take the job or not? I'm a busy woman..."_

_"She has a man's ass, boss. Not much of a woman with a man's ass..." The young lady said while framing out, what she thought was, the outline of a man's rear with her hands._

_I held back a smile._

_"I will go there, investigate and look for your son. Although my car is in the shop so I couldn't start until Thursday." I replied._

_"I will have a rental brought to you tonight." She tossed a MasterCard onto my desk in front of me. "For expenses. I don't care what it takes, Mr. Morris, find my son. Who knows what those freaks are doing to him. Good evening."_

_She turned and walked away. I couldn't help but notice that she did have a somewhat masculine lower body._

_"What do you think?" I asked then looked around but saw I was alone._

_The young woman side-stepped into reality then sat on the chair. "Bitch can't walk in heels either... are you sure she's a woman, boss? I have seen more curves on an old metal pipe..."_

_"Can you not try to make me laugh when I'm working the role?"_

_"What?" She asked as her ghostly pale skin returned to its normal color and her hair shaded from white to dark blue. "She did have a man's ass. Kinda like yours except more manlier."_

_"Hey..." I protested._

_"Hey, an apple bottom is cute on some guy's boss..."_

_"What's the Ghostbusters number again?"_

_"I'm not a ghost, boss, I'm existential... where are we going again?_

_"Some off the map town called Erorala. Ever heard of it?"_

_"No... but I see a MasterCard there and I do need a new outfit... one fit for finding a lost 10 year old boy for man ass..."_

_I tossed her the MasterCard. "Bring back lunch."_

_"Whatever." She said a simply vanished._


	2. Chapter 2: Sight Seeing

Clack...clack...clack...clack...clack...

Echoed behind me as I walked down the stairs and into the expensive looking car parked outside of my office.

The SUV looked like a shiny oversized box with round edges on the back and a regular front. It had the capacity to sit five people, four comfortably.

"So does she expect us to roll over and die? Suv's are known for rolling over." The walking sound beacon behind me said.

"Yes, mom." I added.

"It's true..." She replied.

"Why did you have to get them loud shoes?" I complained while walking around and hit the button that unlocked the car.

"Women, Richard, wear heels. Just like we wear dresses and blouses."

"Penny... couldn't you just have bought some regular shoes? Something that doesn't let everyone in the nearest block and a half know we're coming?"

"Boss... this is about me forgetting to have them take off the onions on your burger isn't it?"

"...I hate those little bastards..." I replied in a child like voice.

"I know boss... want a shake on the way? We could pass by that one small time place with the girl with the big tits that you like. Would you like that?"

"Maybe..."

-0-

Two shakes and one very impressive rack later, we drove out of the bussiness distric out of the crappy Arizona town and into one of the many housing districts of the neighboring city. By neighboring city, I don't mean that you enter it imidiately after exiting a different town. Most town in Arizona, except for Phoenix and other adjacent cities, are a while alart from each other.

Meaning that it took about 45 minutes of trailors and dirt and cows and mountains and, yes, cacti before we started seeing signs of life again.

"But what if you're skydiving and just happen to fall on a cactus? Would you get stuck on it then?" Penny asked me.

"Remember that mountain lion that got stuck on top of a saguado years ago?"

"Yeah."

"Enough said."

"Where are we going?"

"To see Murphy"

"Why? You don't trust Man-Ass?"

"Nope..."

Penny adjusted the heater on her side of the car as it wasn't warm enough for her. Personally I would have cracked the window open slightly.

"Wanna stop and get coffee?" I asked.

"Yes..."

We pulled into the nearest gas station and stretched then walked in slowly. A school bus in sweats stood at the counter and complained about how her hot dog was slightly colder than it should have been, while a very uninterested young man listened to her in a very uninterested way.

"A cold...hot dog...could...be harmful...to...my diabetes..." The woman puffed between breathes.

"Ma'am, the hot dogs started getting cold because you pulled them out and walked around the store before getting back to them."

"Is your manager...around?"

"She stepped out, she will return in about 45 minutes maybe...an hour..."

"Forget it..." The woman said then turned around and waddled passed us.

Penny held her hand over her mouth and nose.

"Someone needs an adult diaper change?" I suggested.

She nodded quickly then gasped through her hand.

The young man, behind the counter, sighed and pulled out a small bottle of perfume from his pocket and spraged the air around him then Pennys hands when she held them out.

"Thanks." Penny said and breathe deeply while her hands covered her face.

"That's Lara... she either complains about the hot dogs being too hot or cold or the drinks containing too much ice. Once she complained about how her lottery ticket should have been the winner since she dreamt she had won. Just the two coffees?"

"And a doughnut!" Penny yelled as she click-clacked her way to the pastry wall.

"Clack-clack-clack-clack." I echoed.

"Shut it..." Penny replied.

"Five-eighteen."

I handed him the master card and signed the receipt as Penny came back with half a doughnut in her mouth and the other in the bag that was pointed at me.

We walked out, side by side, as I put the doughnut in my mouth.

"Galk-galk-galk..." I tried saying with doughnut in my mouth.

"What?" Penny asked.

"Glack..." I drank slme coffee so the doughnut would go down. "I said 'clack-clack-clack.'"

"Shut up, boss." Penny complained and punched me on the arm.

I turned the car on and began to pull up when I saw a familiar blue pickup truck pull up to pump 6.

"Lucky..." I mumbled and put the car in park and walked out.

A car's breaks squeeled as I walked passed pump 3 and 4 so I held my hand out so he'd stop. No I couldn't have made the car stop magically, it was a reflexive reaction.

Murphy looked up then sighed when he saw me and continued pumping the gas.

"Morris..." Murphy began with a slight base in his voice. He stood about two inches shorter than me but he had more muscle than I did.

"Murphy..." I said and sipped my coffee.

"Did you like my gift?"

"Penny labeled her 'Man-Ass'."

"Because of her ass or is it some woman thing?"

"Both? Either? Who knows..."

"Is she joining you on this one too?"

"She'll be clack-clack-clacking all the way."

"You do know why women tend to wear heels right?"

"Bill... if I knew anything about women, then I'd get some more often..."

"True... what's it been, two, three years?"

I glared at him, or at least tried to. It had been about three and a half year since I was in a relationship. Kinda hard to get back on the horse when your fiancee gets eaten by group of scarlet vampires in front of you, its especially harder when you know that it was your fault...

"Fire clenses all, Richard." Murphy said as the nozzle finished.

"We never found her body, Bill." I whined.

"Fire, Dick. Fire kinda has the tendacy to destroy... plus the building burned down over the bodies. We didn't find your girl's remains or half of the people there... the other half were either barely recognizable or worse..."

"Exposition much?"

"Dick..."

"Cop."

"Say did you ever get a permit for that gun of yours, as a cop, I'm dying to know."

"So why did you send me whatshername?" I replied, changing the subject.

"You didn't get her name?"

"Of course I know her name..." I replied and pulled out my wallet with the credit card. "Mary Kay bussiness card. Eh..."

"This is why I told you to get an assistant..."

"I have assistant... she's just about 15 clacks that way."

"Mary Kay is a make-up company..."

"I thought they sold perfume and crap."

"Do I look like I wear a dress, Morris?"

"Eww... thanks for that image, jerk."

"Maria DeWitts, is her name. Married to Gene DeWitts... children are Erika DeWitts and Marco DeWitts, her lost son..."

"I know that..." I complained.

"Really because the son is actually called Phillip."

"Ass."

"Some detective you are... what did you look for me for?"

"Why did you send her to me? Sounds like a simple crime to me... maybe you should have called national security since they crossed to another state..."

"Something seemed weird to me... my wife buys things from her, once in a while, but she looks different, Richard."

"She lost her kid, Bill... I think that you'd be freaking out if Diana or Wanda were to just dissapear all of a sudden."

"No... something is off... just a hunch, how much did she offer you?"

"Enough."

"Just a guess... ten grand, maybe 15?"

I didn't reply.

"Let's say 15." He continued, as if I didn't ignore him. "How is a Mary Kay shop owner able to throw that kind of money around?

"You're thinking that her shop is just a front for something? Drugs?" I wondered.

"Maybe... I mean that crap is expensive, I know, but I doubt it makes that well... it's normally empty every time Lana drags in there..."

"They're piramid schemes; one smart man makes a product for women and hires a woman to sell it to bored housewives who in turn hires other bored housewives, who in turn hire other bored house wives... maybe it makes more money than we think it does...unless you're the lowest bored housewife..."

"Still... I think that it's a front for something... is that all you needed? I am off duty, you know."

"Yeah, we're good. I'd better go, Penny is already playing with the dash lights."

"Hey can you do me one favor?"

"Sure."

He pulled out a folded piece of paper and handed it to me. I had a black and white picture of a man with a 'HAVE YOU SEEN ME?' tag underneath.

"Regular fee?" I said.

"I'll make sure that the impound fee for your car is paid for." He replied.

"Impound?"

"Your car was illigally parked between two handicap parking spaces when it got damaged."

"While doing a case for you."

"Which is why I'm getting department budget to pay for the damage."

I sighed. "Whatever. Make sure it gets one of those little tree things that smell like vanilla."

"Sure."

I closed my eyes then felt lightheadedness take over me. When I opened my eyes I looked around. Everyone was frozen. Well not really, my mind was just working too quick for time to matter. My hands out stretched towards the bigger street so I concentrated.

My gift was weird. I was able to do many things but one was the ability to look through other peoples eyes. Not nececerally through anyone's eyes but anyone eyes that I could see.

It's an odd gift, something that I recieved instead lf being born with it, at least thats what my parents told me, growing up. Up until the age of 6 I was perfectly normal until this group kidnapped me and two other boys. From what I understand, they experimented with us, the oldest, Sam something, first since he was the oldest, 10. He died and they went with Joshua, 9, and, from what I read in the case file, they suceeded to give the child some sort of telekinesis like powers but they accidently killed him with further experimentation. I was last. I don't remembet what happenef but the report says that one of the people experimented on us betrayed the group and called the cops, in excange for immunity, and they got there before the experiment on me got convoluted. When I woke up I went on normally but slowly discovered that I could do what I do. I call it sight seeing... but it's more than that.

I looked around at all the people around me. My gift is hard to explain; think of a picture... now merge the picture with a second pucture until you have a combination of both pictures, as if you were looking at a different thing with each eye... now merge more pictures. My gift is kind of like that. I generally use my gift to see what everyone around me is seeing, and in turn what everyone around them is seeing and what everyone else around them is seeing. It's convoluted at brst but at this point I was seeing the equivalent of 638 pictures merged together until I saw the man I was searching for, so I narrowed my sight to the man walking down the street who happrned to be looking towards a man in a car who happened to be looking at the man in front of him, and so on and so on until I had turned the corner a mile down and saw the man.

I rode the current of sights I had stolen until I wound up back to my body and pulled the pen out of Murphy's pocket and wrote the address and plate number on Murphy's frying pan, which he called his hand.

I concentrated and time returned to normal.

"So get to already..." Murphy said.

"I get no fees or you don't get the info."

"You already did it?"

"Yup. I'll have my assistant text you the info once I get my car back. Goodnight Murph." I said while walking back to my car.

"The hell? Morris we need to get this guy off the streets..."

I got back in my car and began to drive off.

"Morris. I'm serious. What did you find? Did you even do it?"

"You really need a RIGHT HAND man, Murphy. Goodnight." I said and drove off. Through the mirror I saw Murphy staring at me then scratch his head with his right hand then stopped to look at it.

Three minutes later I got a phone call from Murphy.

I answered it and put it on speaker. "Hi sweety, how are you?" I said.

"You're a son of a bitch, you know that don't you?" Murphy said.

"Love you too, baby. Bye." I hung out and laughed out.

"You're so mean to him." Penny said.

I smiled back and drove towards the I-10.


End file.
